Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The management of the Yellow River, in a big way, is nothing more than three points, which are the same for everyone: ideas, methods, and techniques.

As the saying goes, now and then, since Jiang Xinghuo has changed history, the current Ming Dynasty and the future Ming Dynasty must be different in many aspects such as economy, technology, and productivity.

So from a thinking point of view, although it is the best solution to directly divert the Yellow River to its old path above the Shandong hills, considering that over the years, the Yellow River has diverted the Huaihe River and entered the sea, it has long been disconnected from many water systems that originally belonged to the Huaihe River. If you are worried, then diverting the Yellow River to restore the status of the "Big and Small Yellow River" in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, and then correcting the current situation of the Huaihe River flowing from the Yangtze River to the sea, is the rational plan for the first stage of water control.

After the Yellow River diverts and the Huaihe River returns to its own estuary, the second stage can be considered to allow the Yellow River to return to its own estuary.

The third stage is to build levees on both sides of the Yellow River to limit the flooding of the Yellow River.

The fourth stage is to fundamentally control the Yellow River, that is, to solve the problem of massive sedimentation caused by soil erosion in the middle and upper reaches.

Therefore, if it is only the first phase of the water control plan, then under the existing conditions, although it is very challenging, it is not an impossible task.

In other words, even if hundreds of thousands of people are gathered for construction, as long as the number of troops is sufficient, the money is given enough, and the civilians are not treated too harshly in terms of treatment, then the probability of triggering a civil uprising is low.

For money, Jiang Xinghuo will naturally find a way.

And since there is no problem with the idea, it is actually a matter of method and technology.

Song Li asked: "Steel bars? Did the Ming Dynasty have so much steel? I heard that the steel produced by the new steel-making method is also used for casting cannons, muskets, and armor."

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and just said.

"You don't need that much."

Later, Jiang Xinghuo explained the principle to Song Li: "Steel bars, as the name suggests, use steel as the bones of the building to provide support for the building and make it more stable and reliable. But in fact, it only needs to be used in key projects. , not all buildings or dams need to use steel bars.”

"Of course, even so, a lot of steel is needed, but the problem is that the iron output in the Ming Dynasty has never been a problem. You should also know that as a specialized commodity, the output of iron has always been not proportional to the usage. Now the Ming Dynasty is The iron smelted every year can probably be used by the whole country for several years before it is used up, so many iron smelting plants have been in a state of rest. If there are water control projects, it can actually promote the production of these iron smelting plants."

"After all, there are mountains of iron ingots in the iron smelting yard, and as long as there is enough coking coal, the required steel can be smelted quickly, and these steels do not need to meet the same quality requirements as those used by the military. It just needs to be strong and durable, so the output of the steel bars can be guaranteed.”

Modern steel bars actually originated from the Industrial Revolution. It is precisely because the steel industry has made great progress that there are material conditions for mass production of steel bars. The corresponding technology has also achieved breakthroughs, making modern steel bars a staple in the construction industry. Sharp weapon.

In fact, although steel bars were only invented in modern times, in terms of technical principles, the ancients realized a long time ago that this kind of core support is of great help to the stability of buildings.

If you have to go into archeology, the history of ancient steel bars, oh no, or "iron bars" can be traced back to the ancient Egyptian period. When the ancient Egyptians carried out construction projects, they used iron bars that were highly similar to steel bars. , used to make building materials stronger, and the technical content of this iron bar is not high. To put it bluntly, it is just a matter of melting the iron ore and then feeding it into the mold and then cooling it. The level of metallurgical technology at that time was not enough. The effect is not as good as bronze.

At the same time, China also discovered a similar principle, but ancient China used bamboo, which was easier to obtain, and used the toughness of bamboo to insert it into walls and columns as reinforcements.

However, because China's copper and iron resources have always been relatively scarce, a large amount of metal resources have been invested in construction projects. In particular, China often requires large-scale construction projects, so it is difficult for copper and iron resources to meet this massive supply gap. .

Because of this, China generally chooses glutinous rice mortar or rammed earth and stone to carry out construction projects. The cost of glutinous rice mortar is not low, but if it is a state-led project, it is affordable and effective. Yes, it is basically equivalent to low-mix concrete. This is because the mixture of cooked glutinous rice paste and lime water will have a very strong bonding ability. This bonding ability can even support buildings from falling down for hundreds of years, like The Nanjing city wall was built with glutinous rice mortar; as for rammed earth and stone, the soil was compacted and weighed, and then relied on the support of green bricks or large stones to ensure its solidity. Most buildings were built in this way. The main building materials used in the construction of the Great Wall during the Qin Dynasty were a mixture of rammed earth, bricks, stones, and glutinous rice and shells.

"What is cement?"

"Cement, or concrete made of cement, can be understood as cheap and easy-to-use glutinous rice lime or glutinous rice shells."

Concrete is not a high-end material. In essence, concrete is a building material obtained by mixing cement as a cementing material, sand and stone as aggregates, and water in a certain proportion. It is not essentially different from glutinous rice slurry mixed with lime water.

Ancient Rome obtained original concrete materials earlier because of its ability to obtain volcanic ash. The ancient Roman city of Pompeii in Italy was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It was because of this disaster that the Romans also discovered that volcanic ash could solidify. Or "freeze" the entire city. From then on, the Romans experimented with mixing limewater with volcanic ash, then pouring it into molds to form raw concrete, and using this raw concrete to build ramps, terraces and roads.

But this kind of original concrete has two disadvantages. The first is that there is a huge demand for volcanic ash, and the second is that the quality is actually not good. China obviously lacks a large amount of volcanic ash and needs higher engineering quality, so China’s Building materials have not gone down this path.

But after entering the industrial age, concrete is much more efficient and cheaper to obtain and produce than glutinous rice pulp. It can be said to be of high quality and low price. Due to its good load-bearing and compression resistance, it is widely used in basic building structures. Concrete with steel bars has the effect of one plus one greater than two. Therefore, reinforced concrete structures have gradually replaced the traditional brick-soil or brick-wood structures and become the mainstream method of construction projects.

"How is cement made?" Song Li was very curious about this. Qin Shi Huang used a mixture of glutinous rice slurry and crushed shells to build the Great Wall. The mixture of glutinous rice slurry and lime water was invented during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. , has been used to this day. If there is something that can replace the higher cost of glutinous rice pulp, its significance for construction projects, especially large-scale construction projects, must be unparalleled.

Jiang Xinghuo already knew how cement was made when he was running a factory. Cement in the modern sense was invented by the British in the 18th century. After cement entered China, it was called "cement", and Jiang Xinghuo was not far from next door. There was a cement factory in our hometown. At that time, Jiang Xinghuo was engaged in a chemical plant and was not involved in the cement industry, but the basic principles were clear.

Jiang Xinghuo told Song Lidao: "The raw materials of cement are basically limestone, clay, and the slag left over from iron-making. The principle is to grind the limestone and clay into flour, calcine the clinker, and grind it into powder together with the slag left over from iron-making. To mix, you can mix them and grind them together, or you can grind them separately and then mix them evenly, as long as they can be sieved out with a fine sieve basket."

"Limestone is easy."

It is indeed not difficult to obtain limestone. After all, the lime burning technology has been used for thousands of years from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the present and has been very mature.

"Then why has no one thought of making this cement before?" Song Li asked doubtfully.

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "No one thought that coking coal can make steel before."

Although it may be a bit incredible to say it, in fact, this kind of thing does not have too high technical barriers. In fact, it is more like a layer of window paper that has not been pierced. It is like no one thought of burning coal to make coking coal and then If you smelt iron again, you can get a higher furnace temperature to smelt molten steel.

Now that there has been a breakthrough in steel smelting technology, it means that steel bars are no longer a problem. Then the concrete to match it, as well as the necessary material cement to obtain concrete, can be released. This is what Jiang Xinghuo told the workshop to conduct research and experiments on. One of the important projects of the company, it has the same priority as the perfume that can make money.

Perfume can only be made in the cold winter, and the reason why concrete did not come out earlier is because cement is easy to make, and concrete also has a "water-cement ratio" ratio formula that requires repeated experiments to obtain.

"The reason why I didn't tell you before is because cement can already be produced, but there is still a key proportion of concrete that has not been tested. However, given time, it will definitely not be a problem. This is an exhaustive process, and it only costs It’s just time.”

The "water-cement ratio" mentioned by Jiang Xinghuo refers to the weight ratio of water to cement used in mixing cement slurry, mortar, and concrete. It is as critical as the ratio of materials required to make black powder, but black powder has another Jiang Xinghuo couldn't remember the formula of "mononitrate, disulfide, and charcoal" and the specific ratio of "water-cement ratio". After all, he was not a professional at this.

Without the standard "water-cement ratio", even if there is cement, you will not be able to obtain solid concrete. Instead, you will most likely get a puddle of mud.

This is because the water-cement ratio affects the rheological properties of concrete, the cohesion structure of cement slurry, and its density after hardening. Therefore, when the constituent materials remain unchanged, the water-cement ratio is the most important parameter that determines the strength and durability of concrete. , it doesn’t matter if this ratio is too high or too low.

Song Li nodded happily. Although he only listened to Jiang Xinghuo's description, he could roughly imagine the role of steel bars and concrete. This combination is just like bamboo and mud to build a wall, but steel bars are much stronger than bamboo. , and concrete is much more sticky and firmer than mud.

"If there had been cement last year, it might have been easier to control floods in Jiangnan."

Contrary to Song Li's expectation, Jiang Xinghuo shook his head.

Jiang Xinghuo only said: "It's useless just to have cement, or to make concrete out of cement."

"It's all useless?" Song Li was a little stunned.

"Because one of the characteristics of concrete is cracking. If you say that it is okay to build a house with bricks and stones, but if you want to build a dam, a city wall, or a fortress, then you don't even have to think about it. The only way to solve the cracking of concrete is to use it with Steel bars. The furnace temperature is not high enough, and steel cannot be obtained on a large scale. How can we make steel bars?"

Only then did Song Li realize that the most important thing was not cement, which was easy to make, nor concrete which had to experiment with a standard "water-cement ratio", but steel bars!

But if you say that cement concrete is useless, that is not objective, because cement concrete has a great use, and that is road construction, especially long-distance road construction.

In modern times, cement concrete roads in villages will crack within two years, making driving very bumpy. This is because cement concrete will naturally crack, but it was different in ancient times. What were the road conditions like in ancient times? Except inside the city, there are no stone roads at all. Outside the city, there are all dirt roads. Even the so-called "official road" is still a dirt road.

When dirt roads turn into cement concrete roads, you don’t care about the quality of the cement concrete roads, it’s all a qualitative change!

Because no matter how bad this kind of cement concrete road is, cement concrete is cement concrete after all. No matter how much it rains, it will not turn into a quagmire. It will not be so bumpy that it will be impossible to walk at most.

The significance of large-scale and good road construction materials that can be obtained at a low price is really great. Let’s talk about nothing else but the speed of information transmission. If there is a cement concrete road from Beijing to Nanjing, the normal length of this road Two thousand miles, the highest level six hundred mile express used to take more than three days to reach, but now it is estimated that the speed can be accelerated to more than two days.

In addition, the efficiency improvements that concrete cement roads can achieve in large-scale marches, long-distance trade, and transportation of food are all very considerable.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory. If more roads could be built, transportation conditions would be improved, and local control would be greatly improved.

In addition, steel and cement concrete can also solve an urgent need at the moment, which is to resist the possible invasion of Timur's empire.

Jiang Xinghuo is not sure whether the old lame man will die halfway through the history like in his previous life. But even if he prepares for the worst, he will start building a group of fortresses in the Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province in the second year of Yongle. By the fourth year of Yongle, it will be It's fixed.

With the bastion group, the Timur Empire's return artillery (weighted trebuchets) and large-caliber artillery will be ineffective, and they can only sigh under the fortified city.

It is a big taboo for military strategists to go on an expedition and put their troops in a dilemma under a fortified city. Even if you replace Zhuge Liang, you will still have to retreat when faced with the unconquerable Chencang City, right? This has nothing to do with the level of the commander. Even if the old lame man is not dead, facing this kind of realistic difficulty should be enough for the Timur Empire to retreat.

After all, you can't just chew down one of the bastions and be done with it. As long as enough supplies are stored in advance, it will be more difficult to defeat them later.

Song Li didn't know what Jiang Xinghuo was thinking at this time. He just asked: "What about the method of flushing sand with water?"

Song Li was very curious about this unheard-of water control method, but he had already guessed some information from what the name revealed.

According to the inherent experience in water control, the most important method to control rivers that are prone to flooding is Dayu's method, which is to divert the water. However, the effect of this is really poor for the Yellow River, because no matter whether it is to divert the Huai River The downstream channel of the Yellow River that flows into the sea should be widened, or other river tributaries should be dredged and dug. Although it can slow down the water potential during floods and reduce the pressure on the dams to avoid the risk of dam collapse, the problem is that the situation of the Yellow River is very special.

In fact, the main reason for the erosion of the dams in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is that sedimentation has caused the river bed to rise. If we use the "canyon relativity" to explain it, it means that the river bed is raised, which means that the dams on both sides have become lower, and the dams have become lower after a rain. When there is a flood, the dams are easily washed away, so ultimately, the problem in the lower reaches of the Yellow River lies in sand control.

As for how to control sand, Song Li vaguely touched the threshold.

Jiang Xinghuo directly opened the door to the new world to him.

"This method is just to provide you with an idea. Because the current cement concrete cannot dry quickly, cement concrete can only be used as an auxiliary. The water beam sand flushing method, also called the water beam sand attack method, is to tighten the river channel and use The momentum of the water impacts the sediment at the bottom of the river bed, thereby achieving the purpose of dredging and preventing floods. This is mainly targeted at rivers like the Yellow River that have insufficient water flow but high sediment content that causes continuous sedimentation of the river bed."

Song Li thought about it and understood that if desertification was to be controlled, the way to remove the roots must be to control soil erosion in the middle and upper reaches. However, this was something that few generations would not be able to do. All he could do was to treat the head and feet. To solve the problem, since there is a lot of sediment, we should find ways to reduce the sediment, because the sediment is carried by the Yellow River water, and if the Yellow River water is diverted, although the flood disaster will be reduced, the problem is that it will only take a long time to carry the sediment. If it is less, it will accelerate the deposition of sediment and form a large area of ​​silt. On the contrary, if the Yellow River water can flow at a high speed, even if it cannot wash away all the sediment, it can still change the current situation of siltation. This is the water beam sand flushing method. The real principle.

Jiang Xinghuo continued to explain to him in detail: "The method of confining water and flushing sand is the 'four embankments'."

"The first embankment is the main embankment, which is the commonly used flood control embankment."

"The second embankment is the remote embankment, which means building another embankment behind the main embankment. Once the main embankment collapses, the existence of the remote embankment is an added layer of insurance."

“The third embankment is a silt embankment. Because the river water will impact some of the sediment on the main embankments on both sides, a small silt brush embankment with a bamboo and wood structure can be built on the silt on both sides to transfer the silt. Block it and prevent it from returning to the river."

"The fourth embankment is the inner embankment, which is an additional embankment built inside the original main flood control embankment, that is, in front of the siltation embankment, to artificially restrict the flow of the Yellow River and make it more rapid."

"The formula is that if you want to go deep to the north, use a dike in the south and deepen it in the north; if you want to go deep in the south, use an embankment in the north and deepen it in the south; if you want to go deep in the middle, use two embankments in the north and south, touching the middle, and deepening in the middle. "

After Song Li heard this, he was stunned on his seat and could not recover for a long time.

After a long time, Song Li stood up and saluted Jiang Xinghuo.

"The national teacher is so talented and knowledgeable that I admire him so much!"

This theory of "four dykes" had a great impact on Song Li. This river management theory based on systems engineering ideas, combined with the emergence of reinforced concrete, can undoubtedly change the relatively inefficient situation in the past.

Although it's not something difficult to understand, the idea is very clever, and Song Li couldn't figure it out anyway.

Jiang Xinghuo was not an engineer, but he could think of such a method, which made Song Li, a professional, feel very ashamed of himself.

Fortunately, this is Jiang Xinghuo. As a banished immortal, what can he propose? Although everyone is surprised now, they are not particularly surprised and have become numb.

But speaking only from the method of consolidating water and attacking sand, Pan Jixun’s method of consolidating water and attacking sand was actually very highly regarded in Jiang Xinghuo’s previous life. This method of water control is considered great, and it has been used for hundreds of years since the Ming Dynasty. , is an effective method of water control proven in practice.

Chen Huang, an expert on river control in the Qing Dynasty, also followed this idea to manage the Yellow River. He once said, "Pan Yinchuan's theory of using embankments to contain water and using water to wash away sand is really a natural principle. It was not a delicate theory at first, so it is called "after". Those who discuss rivers must regard them as golden subjects." Li Yizhi, a modern water conservancy expert, also commented on Pan Jixun's river management. The great success was achieved by Pan Gong Ji Xun. Pan's embankment management not only used it to prevent floods, but also used it to contain water and attack sand. This was a profound understanding of the principle of management."

Controlling the Yellow River was not only an important achievement of Zhang Juzheng's reforms, but even after Zhang Juzheng's fall, Pan Jixun continued to control the Yellow River. He controlled the river four times, and finally used a thousand-mile embankment stretching for three chief ministers to control both sides of the Yellow River. Clamping it up, the direction of the Yellow River began to stabilize, changing the previous situation of heading east and west. The achievement was unprecedented. However, if we look at the overall situation, that is, treating the Yellow River as a whole, it has not fundamentally changed the situation. Because the Yellow River has a lot of sediment and serious soil erosion in the middle and upper reaches, this is something that people of this era cannot accomplish, and subsequent history has also proved that this great method has been effective in managing the river for hundreds of years. After basically stabilizing, the Yellow River began to continuously break and change its course.

"Then we will use water to wash away the sand, and then store the Huaihe River to wash the yellow river. A two-pronged approach to control the Yellow River?" Song Li asked.

The idea of ​​storing the Huai River and flushing the Yellow River has always been mentioned by people, because now the Yellow River diverts the Huai River and flows into the sea. Hongze Lake is the intersection of the Yellow River and the Huai River. The so-called "Storing the Huai River and brushing the Yellow River" means building dams in Hongze Lake to stop the Yellow River. The water flows into Hongze Lake, and then a large amount of Huaihe River water is diverted into Hongze Lake to raise its water level, making Hongze Lake, the lake that carries the Huaihe River water, stronger than the Yellow River. In this way, the Huaihe River water can flow back into Hongze Lake through Hongze Lake. The Yellow River, and Hongze Lake carrying the Huaihe River water is a clear water lake with a very small sediment content, so the Huaihe River water can be used to flush the Yellow River.

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it won't work to store the Huai River and turn it yellow."

The method of "accumulating the Huaihe River and brushing the yellow river" is definitely effective in the short term, but in the long term the effect is actually very unsatisfactory, because the Yellow River is strong and the Huai River is weak. Water poured into the Huaihe River water storage area, resulting in direct flooding. In Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the six dams of the Huaihe River were raised infinitely, so exaggerated that even the sub-weirs on the levees were superimposed. If it reaches more than five feet, it cannot be any higher. In this way, the water level of Hongze Lake, which is responsible for the main task of storing Huaihe River, often reaches more than two feet all year round. Once it rains heavily, the dam will be washed away. It can be said that " "Storing the Huai River and brushing it with yellow" has completely failed.

When Jiang Xinghuo was running a factory, he saw an editorial by industrial pioneer Zhang Zhuangyuan when he was reading a newspaper. It was about the problem of the Huaihe River. He was deeply impressed by it because it was explained more thoroughly. This was what the newspaper said at that time. written.

——"In the Ming Dynasty, high weirs were built, but the Huanghuai River merged with it and never recovered. This caused troubles and disasters. Sizhou and Jinhong County were abandoned, Linhuai was abandoned, and they were forced to move to Qinghe and Pizhou. At times, the Xuhai River overflowed and invaded Gaobao. In the more than 200 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, there has been little peace. Today's high weirs cut across its lower reaches, and the old roads have been lost. The upper and lower rivers have been tortured by Huaixu and chaos, which is related to the safety of the world. However, ignorant people are in panic. Ju Yu raised the yellow, in order to raise the water to stop the boiling, he used all the tricks of pouring down the pond and building weirs. His skills gradually became exhausted, and the invisible disaster was already done. However, he still persisted in his obsession and did not think about untying the string but opened it again. This can be a painful cry. This is what it is."

Looking at Song Li's expression, Jiang Xinghuo knew that the idea of ​​"storing the Huai River and brushing it with yellow" had probably arisen in the minds of water management people like them more than once.

This method is perfect from the perspective of simulation, is self-consistent, and conforms to the basic water control logic. If you rely solely on deduction, it is difficult to prove that it is not feasible.

Jiang Xinghuo sighed and asked, "Do you have paper and pen?"

"have."

Song Li took out the paper from the drawer of another table and gave Jiang Xinghuo to grind the ink.

Jiang Xinghuo picked up a pen and sketched out patterns and formulas on the paper for him.

The formula is not something difficult, it is the simplest Bernoulli's principle in fluid mechanics, and it belongs to the level of middle and high school physics.

"This is speed, this is pressure."

In water or air flow, if the speed is small, the pressure is high; if the speed is high, the pressure is low.

Jiang Xinghuo did not use symbols and directly entered the text. Song Li could see it very clearly. The word speed did not need to be explained. Song Li had heard Jiang Xinghuo explain what the word "pressure" meant in "Ming Pao" about hot air balloons. I have also read articles on the principles, and it is not difficult to understand.

"But the fluid in the ideal state is definitely different from the complicated actual situation. In fact, the fluidity of the river water is different in the cross-section of the river. The flow speed of the water near the river bank and the river bottom is faster than that of the water flow on the surface of the river. The flow rate needs to be small.”

"So, storing Huaihe River and brushing it with yellow is perfect in theory, but in practice it is impossible. Let's deduce it in detail. Since speed and pressure are inversely proportional, then if the speed in the river is inconsistent, will there be a pressure difference? If it is a river, of course It is easy to say that since the flow speed at the bottom of the river is smaller than the flow speed on the surface of the river, under the action of the pressure difference, the water flow fluid will flow from bottom to top, and the sediment will be rolled up. This is the 'water beam sand flushing method'. Scientific principles.”

Before Song Li could react, Jiang Xinghuo said again: "But do you think the situation in Hongze Lake is like this? In lakes and rivers, it is true that the water flow near the river bank and at the bottom of the river flows faster than the water flow on the surface of the river. Smaller, but the problem is that the water surface flow of rivers is limited, but the water surface flow of lakes can be regarded as almost unlimited. Guess what problems will arise in this case? "

After listening to Jiang Xinghuo's words, Song Li fell into deep thought.

Yes, the river flows very fast, so depending on the different water speeds on the surface, bottom, and both sides of the river, there will definitely be a pressure difference. But if this pressure difference is placed in a wide lake, will it still be the same thing?

"Let me first tell you what factors affect the flow rate of the river."

Jiang Xinghuo wrote down on paper, there are three factors in total: flow radius, water area, and water density.

As Jiang Xinghuo spoke every word, Song Li's expression became more and more enlightened.

His brain was thinking rapidly. Since the flow rate of the river is affected by these three factors, he didn't need to tell Jiang Xinghuo to know that the smaller the radius of the water flow and the smaller the area of ​​the water body, the faster the flow rate would be. The simple truth is - with a water gun made of bamboo tubes, the water flow from the holes in the bamboo tube is definitely faster than the water flow from a pot of water directly poured on it.

Therefore, the flow speed of fast streams is much faster than that of gentle lakes.

As for the density of water, he didn't know much about it, but he thought that the density of water in Qingshui River and Zhuoshui River should be different.

"These two are factors that influence the speed of sediment flow."

Jiang Xinghuo wrote again about the river bed roughness and sediment density.

"If the flow rate of the river can be greater than the velocity of the sediment, then the sediment can be swept away by the river. Now if you analyze it according to these conditions, by storing the water from the Huaihe River into Hongze Lake, and then pouring it back into the Yellow River, it will really Can it have the effect of 'scrubbing' pornography?"

Song Li closed his eyes in despair.

Because the answer is already obvious, it's impossible.

It's like there is a puddle of dried mud stuck firmly to the ground. You use a water gun made of bamboo tubes to draw water from the basin, aim it again and again and slowly flush it, maybe you can loosen it. Then shovel it away.

But if you pour a basin of water on it, it will most likely turn the dry mud into mud with a little moisture. The mud will still be on the ground, and there will be nothing else except that your basin of water becomes turbid. Change.

"What should we do?"

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and just said: "There is no other way. Don't think about 'storing the Huaihe River to wash away the yellow'. Just use the method of beaming water to wash away the sand, and build embankments on both sides of the Yellow River. The key parts will be built with reinforced concrete to connect the Yellow River and the Huaihe River." The river course has been restored to its correct position. As for the vegetation restoration in the middle and upper reaches, it was caused by hundreds of years of indiscriminate deforestation during the Song, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, and can only be restored slowly."

Song Li breathed a long sigh of relief. No matter what, it seems that the most effective way to control the Yellow River is to use water to attack the sand. It can solve the practical problems of regulating the Yellow River in the first to third stages.

Jiang Xinghuo also thinks so. It's not that it's entirely left to future generations, but that there are some things that really can't be done now. As for the future, we have to wait for Ming's technology to advance further and the economic size to increase several times. As long as If the technology is advanced enough and the economy is strong enough, large-scale infrastructure projects are actually not difficult for a big country like Ming Dynasty. As long as the objective conditions permit, nothing is impossible.

"I will focus on cement concrete and steel bars next. These basic conditions will definitely be implemented next year, and large-scale production will not be a problem. As for the arduous task of regulating the Yellow River, it is up to you. .But if you want to be promoted to Minister, especially Minister of the Ministry of Industry, you may not be able to do it without a good project. Building Beijing is the job of Guo Zi, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Yellow River, this is a big job that the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties did not complete for many years, and it is enough to be recorded in the history. Now that there are new methods and technical conditions, you still have to think carefully."

Jiang Xinghuo said it sincerely, and Song Li was confused when he heard it.

Of course he wanted to be promoted, and he wanted to take his position as Zuo Shilang a step further and turn him into a highly respected minister.

However, the work of building the Yellow River is not easy to do. It is one of the most difficult projects in ancient China. As long as it is carried out, it is destined to live on the construction site to coordinate everything in the next few years. The degree of damage to people's whole body and mind is not ordinary people. Can bear it.

The food, clothing, housing and transportation of hundreds of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people, negotiations with three or four chief ministers and dozens of local governments and counties at every turn, the step-by-step progress of projects that are thousands of miles long, and countless emergencies that may occur. To put it bluntly, there were so many civil and military people in the Manchu Dynasty. After selecting the two necessary conditions of having experience in large-scale water control projects and being strong and energetic, there were really not many people left after screening, except maybe Song Li. , only Pingjiang Bo Chen Xuan can do this job.

"let me think again."

Song Li still couldn't make up his mind on the spot.

Jiang Xinghuo put down the pen and paper and patted his shoulder to express understanding.

You really have to understand that they are all officials in such a high position. It would be immature if they just agree to it out of the blue.

Among the six departments, it is impossible for the emperor to let him control or interfere with the core department like the Ministry of Personnel, which controls personnel power. The same is true for the Ministry of Justice, which controls the judiciary.

Therefore, if Jiang Xinghuo wants to expand his power, he can only go to the Ministry of Industry, which is responsible for construction projects, and the Ministry of War, which is theoretically responsible for military affairs.

But in fact, under the temple structure of the early Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of War was the department with the least power among the six ministries. It was like a rubber stamp for the Governor's Office of the Five Armies. It was only responsible for issuing documents. The real power was in the hands of the Five Armed Forces. In the hands of the Military Governor's Mansion, in short, the Ministry of War is a rather useless department among the six departments. Not only is it useless to get involved, but it is also easy to be targeted.

In this case, Jiang Xinghuo's best choice is actually the Ministry of Industry.

In fact, the Ministry of Industry was the one most involved in the reform. Whether it was water control, road construction, gun manufacturing, or even many industrial projects, these were closely related to the Ministry of Industry.

If Ming Dynasty wanted to carry out the industrial revolution, it was naturally inseparable from the work of the Ministry of Industry.

At this moment, Song Li suddenly asked: "National Master, actually there is a question I haven't asked you."

Jiang Xinghuo was slightly startled when he heard this, then smiled and said, "You can ask."

"I would like to ask, what do you think of the future of political reform? In other words, what do you want the world to be like?"

Song Li said frankly: "Actually, I have been thinking about you when I saw you fighting with the Confucian scholars on Taiping Street, when I saw you praying for rain and thunder at the Great Sacrifice Altar, and when I saw you killing corrupt officials in Changzhou Mansion."

"I've been thinking about it too."

Jiang Xinghuo said in a rare relaxed manner: "As I walked and looked, I thought that sometimes I felt that I had done enough, and sometimes I felt that I had not done enough. Don’t you think it’s weird? If you look too far, you won’t be able to see the things around you; if you look too high, you won’t be able to see the life in the dust.”

"Actually, I'm not afraid of your jokes. Although the Rongguo Duke's mansion is the simplest among all the palaces, there are still hundreds of people in the whole mansion. But until now, I can't even understand the housekeepers and servants in the Rongguo Duke's mansion. , accountant, boy, cook... I can’t remember them all.”

"I once read a fragmentary novel called "A Dream of Red Mansions", which described the luxurious and luxurious life in the palace of the Duke of Wei. I think the palaces of the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Cao both looked like this. Sometimes I think about it, is it really interesting to be in a big house talking about the family's shortcomings every day, surrounded by this young man and that girl, from the master to the servants, all bribing and frame-up for their own interests? ? Do I want to live this kind of life, enjoy being surrounded by others, and enjoy the honor of being treated as the supreme master?"

Song Li was silent. Although he could do practical things, he was not actually a perfect gentleman in the true sense. He could be called a capable minister, but he could not be called a Qing minister.

And Song Li longed for the kind of life Jiang Xinghuo said. There were so many people in the world, and most of them were troubled by food and clothing. Who wouldn't want to become a Duke at the top of the noble class?

Song Li had actually seen many people who, through imperial examinations or doing business, suddenly had resources that they could not have before, and then they suddenly turned into the kind of people they looked down upon before. To put it bluntly, it was not that they hated that kind of person, but that they I hate myself for not being that kind of person.

"The world I hope to build is not the world in the incomplete book."

"Can it succeed?" Song Li didn't believe it.

"I don't know, but as an old saying goes, if you are honest and know etiquette, and if you want to improve your morals, you must first make Ming Dynasty an existence far superior to other countries. This is the meaning of reform. Only reform can change everything now. , let science and technology and economy develop, and with sufficient resources and capabilities, the world can evolve."

"How can you expect a cicada pupa that does not receive enough nutrients to transform into a butterfly that flutters its wings and flies high?"

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